A mechanical engineering student attu delfthas designed a prosthetic upper-limb socket that can be 3D printed using an everyday FDM system for only €30.
Nicknamed ‘V3D,’ the transradial device features a volume-adjustable closure system, allowing users to easily attach artificial limbs before moving them with a high range of flexion and full elbow extension. Taking just four hours to print, the versatile socket is designed to address the needs of those living in remote areas, where access to 3D scanners and customized prosthetics is likely to be limited.
Overlooked upper-limb amputees
每年，有6,000至10,000名美国公民接受上限截肢，以使他们失去前臂的一部分，并为假肢安装插座，以帮助恢复其身体功能。这些插座对于使某些人造四肢的安全依恋至关重要，当它们合身不足时，它们会导致佩戴者遭受起泡的痛苦。
At present, many limb sockets are manufactured via a time-intensive plaster molding process that can take up to five weeks, and if patients change in weight or size, they have to endure this wait all over again. Using 3D printing, on the other hand, it’s now possible to rapidly turn anatomical 3D scans into personalized prosthetics, but this approach has largely been limited to creating lower-limb sockets thus far.
In order to bring the benefits of additive manufacturing to upper-limb amputees, Delft masters student Israa Kamal therefore set about designing a novel prosthetic socket, that can not only be fabricated and fitted on-demand, but be adjusted to meet the needs of individual patients and allow them to fully-extend their elbow without restriction.
On-demand artificial limb sockets
最初，卡马尔提出了五个插座概念，每个套筒概念都具有不同的机制和透气性水平，然后再将两种固定型号的最佳位置结合在一起以创建一个优化的设计。代尔夫特工程师的最终布局由主壳，可调节的机翼和上部附件组成，该附件旨在使用肘部的Revolute关节连接到假肢。
In theory, the concept allows users to freely adjust the socket without interfering with the wrist unit, while the end of the device can be customized to fit the wrists of individual wearers. Once settled on her final design, Kamal leveraged anUltimaker S53D打印机和PLA材料可创建30欧元的原型，如果生产en-Masse，她说将来可以更便宜地制作它们。
Compared to conventional sockets which weigh around 240g, the V3D proved to be considerably lighter at 170g, and during axial loading, bending and impact tests, the device was capable of withstanding 10 kg of load, induced stresses of up to 50N, and drops from up to 2.4 meters in height without exhibiting any visible damage.
Having validated her novel design, Kamal enlisted the help of five volunteers, who due to COVID-19 restrictions were able-bodied, but still proved able to evaluate the device’s comfort and functionality. Ultimately, the socket could be adapted to the different-sized limbs of each participant, but while they were able to fully-extend their elbows, their level of flexion freedom varied depending on the device’s fit.
Based on her early results, Kamal concluded that fitting a functional socket is dependent on the dimensions of a patients’ residual limb at the point in which the elbow is flexed to 90°. To accommodate this, the student engineer drew up a ‘size guide’ for future socket fittings, before adding that further iterations of her design could include an elbow ball joint, to provide users with a higher flexion range.
Following the V3D’s initial success, its design now been passed ontoRadboud University Medical Center（RUMC），将开发3D打印的假肢，用于治疗荷兰和塞拉利昂的截肢者。卡马尔在她的研究中总结道：“插座证明，如果没有3D扫描仪，可以使用卡尺安装它。”必威APP精装版
她补充说：“这一优势使得在无法使用3D扫描仪的社区中生产V3D可行。”必威APP精装版“此外，插座可以进行参数化，以使具有相似几何形状和可比尺寸的残留肢体的用户适合相同的插座，这将使制造过程减少劳动力密集型，并且较少的时间耗时。”
速度3D打印假肢
While AM is often deployed to produce prosthetics, it’s usually used to create the limbs themselves rather than their connecting sockets. In the past, wearables specialistunyq有些趋势以其3D printed leg socket，尽管与Kamal的作品不同，该设备的设计确实是为了治疗较低而不是上limb amuputees。
在其他地方，添加剂制造越来越多地使假肢的生产更大，科学家来自Israel Institute of Technologyhave managed to create alimb 3D printing production line. By combining advanced imaging with scanning and printing technologies, the team there is now able to produce lifelike extremities at the click of a button.
In a similar vein, prosthetics manufacturer部分手部解决方案(PHS) has revealed that it’s currently usingformlabs’Form 13D printer to fabricate its pediatricM手指和肘部植入物. Switching from injection molding to SLS additive manufacturing has enabled the firm to reduce its lead times from weeks down to just a couple of days.
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Featured image shows a back view of TU Delft student Israa Kamal’s ‘V3D’ 3D printed prosthetic socket. Image via TU Delft.
